Chapter 141: The Inner Side of the World

This time, facing Senior Mai, Uesugi Muneyuki did not hold back again; aside from the fact that he was a transmigrator, he basically let Senior Mai know everything.

It was not that he surrendered without a bottom line just because he had once had a secret crush on her, telling her everything in one go; Uesugi Muneyuki would not do that.

The real reason was that the gap in strength between the two sides was immense; concealment had no meaning and would instead make it impossible for her to accurately judge his true situation.

Uesugi Muneyuki was completely in the dark regarding the Inner World, and he now urgently needed to obtain sufficient knowledge from Senior Mai.

The two reached out across the table, slowly drawing closer. Uesugi Muneyuki raised an eyebrow, and without the slightest shrinking back or hesitation, he thrust his large hand forward and grasped that trembling little hand.

As Senior Mai's crystal-clear little hand fell into his palm, he felt it slightly and perceived it to be like a piece of pure, flawless mutton-fat jade—smooth, greasy, and yet warm and moist.

What he found even more interesting was Shirakawa Mai's reaction.

The moment he grasped her hand, Senior Mai's delicate body gave a violent jolt. The calm, smiling expression on her face became a bit difficult to control, and her body trembled slightly, the intensity gradually increasing.

"We really are... a perfect match," Senior Mai tilted her head, a rare trace of shyness appearing on her face. While she still pretended to be lighthearted on the surface, Uesugi Muneyuki could actually sense a strong, strange sense of tension and the thrill of the hunt in her tone: "So, does that mean you agree?"

"I agree." Uesugi Muneyuki squeezed firmly, not lingering too greedily on the goddess senior's little hand; he knew that as their relationship grew closer, there would be plenty of such opportunities in the future.

"Very good." Shirakawa Mai finally relaxed, her pair of bright, shining eyes carefully sizing up her "new toy," filled with joy and relief.

First trick the little pig into the pen, then slaughter it!

As long as I slowly get him used to coming to me for help regarding the Inner World, and let his entire worldview of the Inner World be shaped by me, I won't have to worry about not being able to handle him!

And she was actually very clear that for someone like her, there was almost no room for choice in selecting a partner. She could only choose someone who was also an existence of the Inner World, but this also meant extreme danger. Therefore, when Uesugi Muneyuki accepted her invitation and appeared before her, Shirakawa Mai had already made up her mind.

It's him!

After the two reached a consensus, they fell into silence almost simultaneously. Uesugi Muneyuki looked at the flying snow outside the window; the snowflakes were like cotton wool, yet also like feathers, dancing lightly as they fell and becoming a beautiful scene in the winter. He stared at the snowy scenery outside the window and felt a slight dizziness, but even so, he was enjoying it.

More than half of the men in all of Japan dreamed of watching the snow with Senior Mai, and for now, he had already stolen a march on them.

"So, tell me, about the existence and origin of the Inner World." Uesugi Muneyuki finally took the initiative to speak.

"Mm." Senior Mai thought for a moment and nodded slightly: "Uesugi-kun, do you believe that there were once gods in this world?"

"I can believe it." Uesugi Muneyuki's answer was concise and to the point.

He could transmigrate, and he had seen a Dead Soul with his own eyes; why shouldn't he believe that there were gods in this world?

"Mm, I can tell you now that our world once had gods, true gods." Seeing that Uesugi Muneyuki did not have any look of aversion, Senior Mai began to tell the story.

This world once existed with gods, true gods.

In those forgotten ancient times and the poorly recorded pre-Christian era, true deities once moved about in this world. They were called the "Original God." From the first budding of life under the water... to the giant beasts of the Stone Age... to the first time humans walked upright, deities had existed here since ancient times. They constituted the laws of this world; in other words, they themselves were a part of the world's laws.

Because these Original Gods were very ancient, they were called "Old Gods."

However, these so-called Old Gods began to gradually leave this world during a period before the first century.

"The last Old God was born in the year 1 AD, and his birth also represented the prelude to the departure of the true gods." Senior Mai described to Uesugi Muneyuki: "The Old Gods seemed to have collectively planned the birth of the last Old God, and as they completed their final work, they began to leave this world one after another. By the year 400 AD, all the Old Gods had left this world."

"Therefore, the one born in the year 1 AD was both the last Old God and the first New God."

"Old Gods? New Gods?" Uesugi Muneyuki frowned, signaling for Senior Mai to continue.

"The Old Gods had long since left this world, but their power was too great, so much so that even after leaving for many years, traces of their activities still remained in this world—their power, their afterimages, the ruins they left behind—and all of the above are collectively referred to as..."

"The Inner World?!" Uesugi Muneyuki understood: "The Old Gods are the source of everything in the Inner World?!"

"Correct." Senior Mai nodded with a smile.

"Then what about the New Gods?"

"New Gods... I don't know if I can call them gods." Senior Mai revealed an uncertain expression, looking somewhat lonely: "After the Old Gods left, besides leaving behind their power, they also left behind some trials. As long as one can pass these trials, one can become a New God."

"The power of a New God is very weak, and their influence on the world is very limited. Every New God, after becoming a god, can inherit a tiny portion of the Old Gods' authority, but they can only use it once or twice. This power will quickly be exhausted, and the New God's power will decline accordingly. At that point, they are just slightly stronger ordinary people."

Uesugi Muneyuki's brows were tightly locked. He suddenly remembered some things Ms. Kurosawa had told him before and pressed further: "Who are the New Gods? Are many of the famous people in history New Gods?"

"Yes, for example, Joan of Arc and Rasputin were New Gods. The earliest imperial lineage from the first to the ninth generation, the 'Que-shi Bada,' including Jingu Kogo, were all New Gods. And closer to our time, for instance, your ancestor Nobunaga might have been a New God, because many people described him as possessing an incredible, special mental power. Many of the Yanagita Group who had already agreed to defect were too afraid to act rashly just because Nobunaga looked at them."

"And Nobunaga should also have been a New God. He ascended the throne of gods at Atsuta Shrine before the Battle of Okehazama. And Akechi Mitsuhide—he obtained the power of a New God and killed Nobunaga, using up his power in one go. After his defeat, he changed his name to Nankobo Tenkai and entered the Edo Shogunate as a black-robed prime minister, living to be 119 years old... Nankobo Tenkai is the last verifiable New God in Japan; after him, no more New Gods were born."

Senior Mai's words completely overturned Uesugi Muneyuki's worldview.

"Then what about Toyotomi Hideyoshi?"

"Toyotomi Hideyoshi was just a farmer... Tokugawa Ieyasu was just a raccoon dog." Senior Mai chuckled: "You're overthinking it."

"Unfortunately, although they are all called gods, the power of the New Gods is very weak. They can almost never influence the course of history, and even if they do, they only have that one chance, such as the Honnō-ji Incident." Senior Mai continued: "With the advancement of technology, the influence New Gods can have on the world is becoming lower and lower. In ancient times, a warrior who could kill a hundred men could change a war, but in modern times, can a New God defeat an M1A1 main battle tank? I'm not sure, but I think it's almost impossible."

"Even so, becoming a New God is becoming increasingly difficult, because as the time since the Old Gods left increases, the Inner World energy they left behind is also becoming weaker and weaker. Perhaps in a few hundred years, there will no longer be any supernatural power in this world. Those miracles and strange abilities that once existed will only be a few sparse lines of superstition in human records."

The times have changed, my friend. Senior Mai sighed softly and shook her head slightly: "Previously, there was a supernatural ability user in the United States who was a bit too arrogant, thinking they could deal with an MP5, only to have their head blown off by a US Detective with a Barrett."

Uesugi Muneyuki understood completely: "No wonder you all have to hide yourselves so carefully!"

"That's right, because as the energy of the Inner World becomes less and less, thinner and thinner, what is the first reaction of every supernatural ability user?"

"It's to seize others'." Uesugi Muneyuki also sighed, thinking back to that attack.

"Yes, so the current situation is that every one of us supernatural ability users is like an old hunter holding a shotgun in a dark forest, carefully looking for targets while also carefully disguising and protecting ourselves." Senior Mai rolled her eyes in annoyance: "You've already experienced it, right? Almost killed... so I think it's necessary for me to appear. Otherwise, if you experience a few more similar incidents, you will definitely feel despair toward the Inner World. But if I don't let you experience it, you won't be able to personally feel the danger of the Inner World."

"Then you really have gone to great lengths, Senior Mai." After the two cleared the air, Uesugi Muneyuki felt much more at ease. He tried to move a little closer to Senior Mai, wanting to change from sitting face-to-face to sitting by her side, and Senior Mai did not refuse.

They were both lonely. Uesugi Muneyuki, who had awakened for less than a year, was still fine, but Senior Mai had been enduring too much for too long alone. She urgently needed a "partner," a "soulmate." Even if it meant taking some risks, she was willing; she couldn't take it anymore.

"Then what about the Old Gods? Did they really all leave?" Uesugi Muneyuki continued to ask: "Do they not care about the Earth or humanity?"

"Would you care about a stray dog on the side of the road?" Senior Mai asked in return.

"Huh?"

"The Old Gods symbolize the original laws of the world. They don't care about humans at all. To them, humans are just a stray dog on the side of the road; this stray dog has nothing to do with them."

"The Old Gods do have likes and dislikes toward humans, just like some people will kick a stray dog away or throw stones at it when they see one, while others will give it a sausage or pat its head when they see one. However, whether they give it a sausage or throw a stone, no one cares what happens to the stray dog afterward, and this is the attitude of the Old Gods toward humans." Shirakawa Mai laughed at herself: "But even so, the traces left behind by the Old Gods who were friendlier to humans gradually became the 'Inner World' protected by shrines."

"After we finish eating, I will take you to a place to let you know the real Inner World."

"Where to?" Uesugi Muneyuki was indeed very interested in this.

"Haruna Shrine, in Gunma Prefecture."

(End of chapter)